Surgery for cough headaches?

[bocanutz]

My mother has had debilitating cough headaches in increasing frequency and severity for a couple years now. The pain is  unilateral-right and most severe on the top and side of the head and at the base of the neck. Her right eye tears and right nostril runs. She has a herniated disc in her neck but the doctors have said this is unrelated.

Steroids helped a while back, but now they're back again and steroids, antiseizure meds, and painkillers don't help. A couple doctors have looked at the MRIs and haven't found anything obvious.

This is very serious and she cannot go on much longer with this pain. She's getting the cold shoulder from most doctors who keep prescribing more steroids.

Do you have any idea where the problem can be? If not, how can we locate the source of the problem so the surgery option is available?

Thank you for your time.

[selmaS]

Hi...sneeze and cough headaches as well as HA's from straining can be due to chairi malformation and many times is not reported to the patient as many drs feel this is asymptomatic.

I would review ur Brain and cervical spine MRI's and reports to see if u have chairi.....I am not a dr or saying this is the issue, but too many times it has been overlooked as a possibility.

Good luck
"selma"

[Dr. A. Srivastava]

Thank you for your question.If this would have been herniated disc then she might be facing much more symptoms due to continuously irritation of the nerves through disc bulge. Therefore, this possibility is less likely in her case. If someone has either sinusitis or earlier headache episodes (migraine) then it aggravates more when he/she sneezes. Thus I would suggest evaluating this possibility rather than just disc bulge as quite unlikely cause. Hope this helps.

[bocanutz]

The headaches occur when she coughs or sneezes. Is it possible that this results from the herniated disc? Should we try to repair the neck and see if this solves the problem?

Thanks

[Dr. A. Srivastava]

Thank you for your question. Although without being able to examine her I can not offer you the specific advice on diagnosis and treatment that she needs, but I would try to provide you some relevant information about her health concern.

Generally, one sided headache & orbital pain (eye pain) with other symptoms could be suggestive of migraine or pinched nerve due to herniated disc in neck. The mainstay of the migraine treatment is always to identify the triggering factors and to avoid them. Triggering factors could be different foods such as cheese, chocolate, alcohol and even few fruits. Other factors that may induce your migraine attack may be contraceptive pills, stress or depression, bright lights, loud noise and traveling. Few females experience headache more commonly during at the time of hormonal imbalance. I would suggest careful record of events that have proceeded with the attack and avoid those factors. In addition, try to rest in a dark & quiet room, meditate, have a balanced diet and avoid taking unnecessary drugs. Another possibility could be a sinusitis pain that originates after mucus block and infection of sinuses after cold. That can be resolved after draining mucus from blocked sinuses. Even then if she suffers continuous headache, please arrange an appointment with a neurologist right away who will evaluate the further underlying disorders here that may be the main reasons of your headache and can provide you an appropriate treatment here. Hope this helps. Take Care & Regards.